HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Charles Barkley scored 12 of his 15 points
during a 23-4 run in the final 10 minutes of the second quarter
as the Houston Rockets cruised to a 99-80 victory over the
Denver Nuggets.

Houston held a 30-27 lead with 10:10 left in the second quarter
after Denver's Nick Van Exel hit two free throws. Barkley and
Hakeem Olajuwon combined for 18 points during the remainder of
the half as Houston took a 53-31 lead into intermission.

Barkley, Olajuwon and Scottie Pippen all had double-doubles for
the Rockets, who were playing their home opener after splitting
two road contests. They opened the season with a loss to the
Los Angeles Lakers but rebounded for an 86-84 victory at Golden
State on Saturday.

"That is the way you are supposed to play basketball," Barkley
said. "It was great. All the other guys who haven't played much
got to play. It was a fun game for both the players and the
fans. Things are going well for us right now."

"We did a good job defensively and on the boards," Rockets coach
Rudy Tomjanovich said. "Charles had a big games rebounding. I
think he is just playing fantastic. Not only with his play, but
with his leadership with the younger players."

Antonio McDyess and Cory Alexander scored 14 points apiece and
first-round pick Raef LaFrentz added 10 for Denver, which is off
to an 0-3 start for the third time in four seasons.

The Nuggets began last season with 12 straight losses en route
to an 11-71 mark, matching the second-worst record in NBA
history. They totally revamped their roster during the
offseason.

"The Rockets are a good team, but I prefer to look at what we
didn't do," said Nuggets coach Mike D'Antoni. "We've got to find
ways to compete. I didn't think we competed tonight."

Houston starting point guard Matt Maloney left the game in the
second quarter with a slight separation of his right shoulder.
He will be re-evaluated Tuesday. Maloney had one assist in 17
minutes.

Barkely, who grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds, started the second
quarter spurt with a dunk, and after Brent Price hit 1-of-2 from
the foul line, drove for a layup to give the Rockets a 35-27
lead. LaFrentz briefly stemmed the tide with a tip-in, but
Barkley answered with another dunk.

Despite his performance -- he shot 7-of-9 from the field and
pulled down eight offensive rebounds -- Barkley will undergo an
MRI on Tuesday on his left knee.

"Hopefully it's not bad," he said. "I don't think its serious.
It's been building up for the last week. It gets puffy during
the games. It's frustrating because I had a realistic goal to
play in every game this year. But the fluid is building up in it
and I might struggle in back-to-back games."

McDyess hit a free throw with 7:49 left in the quarter, before
Barkely sandwiched Pippen's bank shot with two jumpers, the
second giving the Rockets a 43-30 lead with six minutes to play
before halftime. Olajuwon followed with two baskets to push the
lead to 17 points, Barkley converted a layup and Pippen's short
jumper made it 51-30 with 1:45 remaining in the period.

"I know he (Barkley) can play," McDyess said. "I think he turns
it on when he wants to. People talk about his age and him being
out of shape, but I don't think so."

Van Exel again hit 1-of-2 free throws, but Olajuwon capped the
outburst with a hook shot that gave Houston the 22-point
halftime advantage.

"We were able to make some stops defensively and convert them on
the offensive end and that got us going," Pippen said. "I was
shooting the ball from the outside and that opens up a lot of
things for us."

Denver, which had just three field goals in the second quarter,
finished at 36 percent (32-of-89) from the field and 6-of-22
from three-point range. The Nuggets committed just nine
turnovers, but were outrebounded, 58-39, and outscored by 13
points from the foul line.

Pippen led the Rockets with 24 points while grabbing 13 rebounds
and Olajuwon added 14 points and 13 boards. Michael Dickerson,
the team's first-round draft selection, dished out five assists
for Houston, which shot 45.6 percent (36-of-79) and converted
23-of-28 from the foul line.

"They are a lot better defensively," McDyess said. "Pippen
talked to them on the court and really got them going. It seems
like he is the leader out there."

Denver climbed back within 12 points in the fourth quarter on a
layup by Chauncey Billups with 8:30 remaining that made it
76-64. But Houston scored the next eight points to seal the
outcome.

Rookie Cuttino Mobely drilled a 3-pointer to start the spurt,
Othella Harrington followed with a layup and Pippen nailed a
3-pointer to give the Rockets an 84-64 advantage with six
minutes to play.

Olajuwon commited four of Houston's 16 turnovers, which Denver
turned into 23 points. But the Nuggets were unable to get to
the foul line, hitting just 10-of-15 foul shots.

"The guys better get used to the back-to-backs," said D'Antoni,
whos team was beaten in Phoenix on Sunday night. "It's a
learning process but that's the way things will be this year."